Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg face off in District 11 softball

The fourth matchup between Mountain Valley Conference champion Pleasant Valley and rival Stroudsburg will be the best of the bunch.

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Posted May. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 24, 2013 at 12:29 AM

Posted May. 24, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 24, 2013 at 12:29 AM

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The fourth matchup between Mountain Valley Conference champion Pleasant Valley and rival Stroudsburg will be the best of the bunch.

When the top-seeded Bears host the No. 9 Mounties in the quarterfinals of the District 11 Class AAAA softball playoffs at 4 p.m. today, two evenly matched teams will look to keep their seasons, and district title hopes, alive.

A week ago PV held off a furious Stroudsburg rally to win its third straight MVC title and ninth in 10 years. The Mounties, who won the conference championship in 2010, scored once in the sixth inning, three times in the seventh and had the tying run on third base and go-ahead run on second with one out before conference MVP Rikki Correll got the final two outs to secure a 5-4 victory and the championship.

I was at that game and the two regular-season meetings — PV won 6-1 on April 19 at Stroudsburg and the Mounties won 4-0 on May 10 — and what I've seen are two very good teams who each have a shot to win a district title.

Both have great pitching, each boasts a solid lineup from top to bottom, and the defenses are sound and smart.

Correll has been outstanding as PV's main pitcher this season. The senior is 9-1, losing the season opener against Lehigh Valley Conference champion Bethlehem Catholic. Correll has allowed just 50 hits over 69 innings and ran her record to 3-0 in the MVC championship game last week (she won in relief as a sophomore against East Stroudsburg South and started against Pocono Mountain East last season). What's most impressive about Correll is her confidence in her own ability and the ability of her team behind her. Every time I ask her a question about her performance she immediately talks about how well her defense played and that has be reassuring to PV coach Steve Caffrey, his coaching staff and the Bears.

Stroudsburg senior Madi Liedberg has really come into her own this spring. Not only is she one of the top pitchers in the MVC, but she's also one of the best in District 11. The right-hander is 13-4 and has allowed just 76 hits in 108 2-3 innings of work. Liedberg, who picked up her 100th strikeout of the season in Tuesday's 9-2 victory over Whitehall in the first round of districts, also has great character and is always quick to credit the work of her defense as a big reason for the success she experiences in the circle.

Juniors Jordan Meckes and Kat Liedberg are a pair of fantastic leadoff hitters to set the table for Pleasant Valley and Stroudsburg. The two both hit for average (Liedberg and Meckes are hitting right around .500), have power (Liedberg has two home runs and 10 extra-base hits, while Meckes has a home run and nine extra-base hits) and speed on the bases. In the field, the two shortstops have good range and powerful right arms.

Through the Bears' lineup, Katie Lenart, Kelsey Miczak, Madison Shaneberger and Tracey Deubler have all gotten their share of big hits. Stroudsburg's Kalista Gioglio, Sarah Canfield, Abi Green and Madi Liedberg have all been big contributors to the Mounties' success.

Defensively, both teams have good catchers. Mackenzie Caffrey moved from third base to catcher at midseason for the Bears and has formed a good chemistry with Correll. Kayla Kern is in her third year as a starter for the Mounties and possesses a strong, accurate arm behind the plate. Shaneberger came out from behind home and has done a good job at third base for the Bears, while Emily Carmella has held down the hot corner for Stroudsburg. Stroudsburg's Madison Pizzo and Lenart are the MVC's top second basemen who double as dangerous hitters.

Another thing I like about these teams is how well they get along with one another. Make no mistake, they want to beat each other today and every time they play each other, but this is not a mean-spirited rivalry. Both on the field and on Twitter, the two teams were very congratulatory of one another's play in the championship game last week. That was nice to see.

So who wins today? Hard to say (and I'm not much for predictions). Both have things to work on from last week's MVC title game. Stroudsburg can't start as slow as it did a week ago when the Mounties had just three hits through five innings. The Bears need to keep their offense going after being shut out with just two hits over the final five innings.

Whatever happens, the last meeting of the two rivals this season will be quite entertaining.